JERUSALEM, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Israel's budget deficit for the 12 months ending in May decreased to five percent of gross domestic product (GDP), the state's Ministry of Finance said in a statement on Tuesday.
The deficit had risen to 8.5 percent of GDP by the end of September 2024 but has gradually narrowed since then to the current level.
However, the deficit recorded at the end of May remains above the government's target, which is capped at 4.9 percent of GDP.
Analysts estimated that despite the recent reduction, the budget deficit for 2025 will finish at at least 4.9 percent of GDP, mainly due to higher-than-expected defense spending amid the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip.
The ministry also reported that in the first five months of 2025, Israel's budget deficit was 15.9 billion shekels (4.56 billion U.S. dollars), a significant improvement compared to the 48.2 billion shekel deficit during the same period in 2024.
According to the ministry's data, this improvement was mainly driven by an 18.6 percent increase in tax revenues compared to last year.
At the same time, government spending from January to May rose by 2.8 percent year-on-year, reaching 256.2 billion shekels. ■
